In an important decision, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has strengthened the rights of a wife seeking maintenance after divorce. Citing the Hindu Marriage Act, the bench emphasized that the courts retain jurisdiction to award maintenance even after a divorce order.

This decision has come in a case where the Family Court rightly passed the order of divorce between the parties, but while granting divorce, did not give anything in the way of permanent alimony to the wife. In this case, the wife had neither filed an application before the family nor before the High Court to claim permanent maintenance as per Section 25.

The bench stressed that, keeping in view the totality of the circumstances and in order to do justice to the parties, we are of the view that while giving the right to the appellant-wife to present her claim for grant of permanent alimony before the competent court, we consider it appropriate to grant some amount towards interim permanent alimony subject to any final decision being taken by the concerned Court on the application filed by the appellant-wife under Section 25.

The court said that it was necessary to consider various factors to determine the maintenance allowance. While awarding interim permanent alimony of Rs 3 lakh, the bench also emphasized its responsibility to ensure that the wife maintains a standard of living with dignity and comfort, which is not desirable. The Court said that Section 25 of the 1955 Act itself envisages that the wife can initiate proceedings for granting permanent alimony even after the order of divorce.

Justices Sudhir Singh and Harsh Bangar highlighted the importance of this decision, emphasizing that it enables spouses to initiate proceedings for permanent alimony at any point. This ensures ongoing access to financial support during times of need, even post-divorce, thereby securing their financial stability effectively.

This underscores that the court's responsibility extends beyond issuing a divorce decree. Section 25 of the 1955 Act explicitly allows wives to seek permanent alimony even after divorce. The High Court made this ruling in response to a petition filed by a woman from Punjab.